Animal Adaptations

Look through the cut-outs and guess who is it! First a little game, then plenty of funny and interesting facts about animals for kids 6-8 years old. Find answers to questions like: Why anteater's tongue is so long? Why a dog wags its tail? Which creature can see in all directions without even turning its head? Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review): 5 Format: Board book What did you like about the book? Each page starts with a question - Whose eye is that? Which animal has such shaggy fur? - followed by a hint or fun fact. The page has a peek-through circle that reveals just enough of the animal beneath for children to make a guess. The cut-out page folds outward, revealing a three-page spread that offers more information about the animal and the adaptation in question (sight, skin types, leg formation, etc.) The illustrations are fun and colorful but not too cartoon-ish. The animals are drawn with personality but are still identifiable as specific wild animals. Children will enjoy comparing adaptations across several animal types and learning about how an animal's body type affects the way they live, eat, and move. Some readers may want to look up each animal and see more of the habitat to which they are so well adapted. Anything you didn't like about it? No To whom would you recommend this book? Recommended for children slightly older than the usual board book crowd, 4-8. This is gently presented but sophisticated information about animal morphology and has a lot of words. Read-alikes include What Do You Do With a Tail Like This by Jenkins and Page, A Peek at Beaks by Levine, Hello World Animals by Edwards. Who should buy this book? Public schools, public libraries, and homes with budding zoologists. Where would you shelve it? Nonfiction picture books (591) Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our to read piles? Yes Reviewer's Name, Library (or school), City and State: Robin Shtulman, Athol Public Library, Athol, MA Date of review: December 10, 2021 Youth Services Book Review Quite a decent little biology book - I normally don't like books like this that ignore the science of evolution, but even I have to admit it would be a bit too much. That said, this is all about evolution - and how five specific animals have adapted select body parts to end up more successful in life. So the compound eye, the prehensile tail, baleen feeding and more all get introduced through a window in a bonus flap in front of every left-hand page, with three factoids about the animal concerned. The right-hand page of what becomes a three-page spread clocks up four other animals as bonuses, and what they've got as a specialisation. Gentle, bright and a good little stepping stone, it will serve many an educator of the very young. John Lloyd, reviewer